The Journey Begins
by Midnite C
Summary: The first part of this story revolves around Autumn. A young girl who always walked with God. Being a freshman in college, it is always difficult to stay true to your faith when temptation is always surrounding you. What happens when she meets someone that will introduce her to the sins of this world?
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: Hey everyone! So quick note. This is a story that I have always wanted to write. An original story based on faith where every character comes from my creativity. It's honestly been a while since I last wrote a chapter so I will do my best with writing. I would love for you guys to participate in this story with me! if you have any ideas for the future of this story or believe changing something will make the story better for the reader, please let me know. I have huge plans for this story and I'm hoping you will tag along for the ride._

 _This story is mostly aimed for teenagers and up. If you have any questions, feel free to pm me or post it on the reviews and I will try to answer. Reviews are greatly appreciated. Thank you for taking the time to give this story a chance and I truly hope you enjoy the first chapter._

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 _ **Disclaimer** : I own nothing but this story!_

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The Journey Begins

The minute hand struck the quarter mark indicating that the time was now 1:15 p.m. It was a bright sunny day at the University of Wilmington. Today being Friday, most people on the campus were finishing up their obligations for the week so they can get their weekends started. Some of the students planned to spend the majority of their free time down by the beach. Others were getting ready for late night parties, and a few more were getting ready to head home and spend some quality time with their families.

Inside the history building, one of the final classes for today was finishing up a small quiz that the instructor had prepared for her students. Mrs. Brooks slowly walked around each row of desks making sure that all of her students were solely focused on the questions in front of them and not doing anything else that may lead her into suspecting of any cheating. She had a strict policy against this form of dishonesty to which she always enforced when needed. She looked up at the clock and realized that there were 5 minutes left in the class. She made one final circle before heading towards her front desk.

One of the students in the class also turned towards the clock before quickly refocusing on her quiz. Any minute the teacher would ask to bring the quizzes to the front and there was a zero tolerance for incomplete work. Fortunately for her, she just answered her second to last problem and was now on the final question. She took a deep breath before quickly reading the question, _'What is the oldest written language ever discovered?'_ The possible answers were, _'A. Hieroglyphics,' 'B. Sanskrit,' or 'C. Cuneiform.'_ She immediately ruled out 'Hieroglyphics' since she easily remembered that the oldest written language was discovered from the Ancient Sumerians from Mesopotamia and not the Egyptians. _'Sanskrit or Cuneiform,'_ she thought to herself. She mentally slapped herself as she clearly remembered studying this material earlier in the week. She knew that the answer was written approximately around 3500-3000 B.C, but for the life of her, she just couldn't remember what form of writing it was.

"Alright class," began the teacher. "Please put your pencils down and pass your completed quizzes to the front."

Autumn scrunched her face for a second as she could feel her right palm beginning to sweat a little as she was still holding her writing utensil. She knew this! She really did know the answer to this question. _'Think Autumn think!'_ she mentally yelled. _'Sanskrit or Cuneiform? Cuneiform or Sanskrit… CUNEIFORM!'_ she responded as if a light bulb suddenly lit up inside her brain. She quickly bubbled in the answer before passing it to the person in front of her and taking a sigh of relief.

Within a few minutes, Mrs. Brooks dismissed the entire class and everyone got ready to leave the room. Autumn grabbed her pencil and picked up her satchel courier bag before walking out of the room. As she was heading towards the building exit, she noticed her reflection on one of the nearby mirrors. Curious, she stepped in front of it and rotated her face exposing a slightly visible red mark on her right cheek that stung on contact. The freshman snickered as she decided to leave the sunburn alone and hope that it wouldn't be too noticeable due to her light-brown skin tone. _'That's the last time I let someone convince me into studying at the beach…'_ she thought as she could also feel more inflammations on both her shoulders. With a sigh, she turned around and headed towards the exit. Outside, Autumn immediately noticed how beautiful the scenery looked. Being a Christian, she firmly believed that everything was designed to be unique and perfect in its own way which only increased her admiration for what nature had to offer. There was a nice cool breeze that felt absolutely perfect as it made contact with her skin. Her smile increased as she looked up and noticed two small blue jays dancing around a tree while singing to one another. These were the days that she would love nothing more than to spend the majority of her day admiring the beauty that God has given his creation. Being from New York City, the 19-year-old rarely experienced this kind of scene back home. She was interrupted from her thought process when she heard a familiar voice call out to her.

"Hey you," greeted one of Autumn's closest friends whom she'd known since childhood.

"Hey, what's up?" asked the female with a smile as they began walking side-by-side.

"Nothing much," he responded. "I was just taking a walk and I was nearby so I decided to wait for you out here… nice sunburn by the way."

Hearing this, Autumn suddenly stopped and looked at him sheepishly.

Carlos looked back and chuckled, "Was I not suppose to noticed?"

Autumn grabbed a lock of her long dark-brown hair and used it to cover the right side of her face. "You weren't supposed to say it out loud," clarified the young adult as she continued to walk.

"Well, my bad… so, where are you heading?"

Autumn rolled her eyes, "To Tina's."

"Smooth-N-Juice?" asked the male freshman.

"Is there any other Tina that you know of?" she asked sarcastically with a soft giggle.

Carlos glared at her for a moment trying to be all serious before eventually just giving in and letting out his own laugh, "Very funny."

* * *

They continued to walk together for a couple of minutes until Tina's Smoothe-N-Juice was in sight. "So, how's the football thing coming along?" she asked.

"Pretty good actually," he responded. "We're having a final practice later today to go over tactics and plays for our game on Monday."

"Right, Taylor mentioned something about it." They both entered the building and walked straight towards the counter. They waited for a moment before one of the employees could take their order.

"Good afternoon, welcome to Tina's. What may I get for you?"

Autumn smiled warmly as she looked up at the menu. "Could I get a medium mango… pineapple smoothie please?"

The female employee kindly took the order before turning towards the black-haired male. Carlos scanned the menu for a second unsure of what he wanted, "I guess I'll have a simple orange juice with a dash of ginger. Medium as well." The employee typed in the order and gave the amount for the order. The football player turned to his childhood friend, "So… whose turn is it to pay?"

Autumn stared at him blankly for a moment before grabbing her straw, "Very funny. I paid for the sandwiches last week so it's your turn and you know it." She turned towards the dining area and searched for her best friend who had to have already been here. "I'm going to go ahead and look for Taylor while you wait on the drinks." Before Carlos could protest, she took her straw and started walking toward the dining room.

* * *

Autumn walked around the dining area for a few seconds before she spotted the person that she was looking for. The young female whom she considers her best friend since earlier last semester was sitting at a booth on the far side of the building facing her direction. She was too focused on her phone in front of her that she failed to notice anybody around her. She had on a white brand designer shirt that perfectly complimented her expresso skin tone and black hair. In addition, she also had on burgundy leather pants with black footwear. Excited to see her best friend again, Autumn quickly walked towards the booth and grabbed her attention, "Taylor."

Taylor quickly looked up from her phone and smiled. She quickly stood up and embraced her best friend whom she hadn't seen since they hung out at the beach earlier in the week. "Autumn," she squealed with emotion earning a few stares from the people around them. "How was your quiz?" she asked as the two females sat down at the booth opposite of each other.

The New York native groaned as she remembered the difficulty of the quiz she just took, "It was very… challenging," she finally responded.

Taylor raised an eyebrow, "Oh really…? Challenging enough for the straight "A" super-nerd that couldn't even be bothered to go for a swim because she was to busy studying… Nice sunburn by the way, " she stated as both females sat across from each other

Hearing this once again, Autumn quickly placed her right hand over the right side of her face. "So much for keeping it hidden," she stated with a slight giggle.

Taylor couldn't help but giggle herself as she extended across the table. She gently grabbed her best friend and slowly pulled her in closer to her, "Did you really think covering it with your hair was really going to keep it hidden?" She softly touched the mark causing Autumn to wince slightly. "Hmm, you have it pretty bad… but I'm sure some touches of make-up could do the job and keep it hidden."

"Seriously?" asked Autumn as she gently pulled back and touched the area that was inflamed. "Do you really think so…? Could you help me?"

Taylor smiled upon hearing this, "Of course, what are best friends f-" Before she could finish her sentence, she was interrupted when Carlos walked to their booth.

"Did someone order a medium mango-pineapple smoothie?" he asked in a somewhat British accent.

Autumn smiled as she received her smoothie and slid further to give him room to sit next to her. She quickly noticed Taylor giving the male an uncharacteristic scowl. "I hope you don't mind but I invited Carlos to join us."

The black-haired female's glare didn't falter as she didn't believe what she heard, "Did you really invite him or did he just tag along?"

"Umm…" began Autumn who had no idea what to say.

"She invited me for your information… Not that it's important," responded Carlos who was now returning her glare.

Taylor snickered as she smirked sarcastically, "Oh Carlos… a devoted Christian as yourself should know better than to lie…"

Autumn looked at the both of them in confusion, "What's wrong with the both of you…? When you first met I thought you both got along pretty well…"

"Oh, we got along very well… In fact too well at one point," responded Taylor sarcastically causing Carlos to cough as a way to try and distract Autumn from what her best friend was saying.

"Yes, we were good friends at one point… but then-"

"Than what?" asked Taylor in a menacing tone. Instead of responding, Carlos just looked at her in anger

At this point, Autumn had no idea what she could say that could ease the tension. Both of her friends continued to look at each other with hatred in their eyes and she had no idea why. As if some miracle, she heard the phone in her bag vibrate. She reached for it and realized that it was her mother calling. "It's my mom," she began. "I have to answer this… Please don't kill each other while I'm gone. In fact, why don't you talk about whatever it is that's bothering the both of you and settle it once and for all…"

"Very unlikely," responded Taylor.

Autumn sighed, "Well at least try."

Carlos stood up and allowed Autumn to get up and walk outside to answer the call.

As soon as Autumn was out of sight, Carlos immediately sat back down and confronted the person in front of her. "What the Hell are you thinking?" he asked aggressively. "Are you stupid or something…? which actually wouldn't be too surprising."

Taylor's glare grew even more intense with every single word that came out of the male's mouth. "Don't you dare speak to me like that ever again," she threatened. "Just who do you think you are?" she continued. "Next to Autumn, you pretend to be some sort of saint that never misses a Sunday church. Yet when she's not around you're just an obsessive and sad human being."

Hearing this, Carlos couldn't help but chuckle. "You're one to talk. I mean look at you… I'm still baffled at how someone as… perfect as Autumn could ever want to be friends with someone that has a reputation of being… filthy."

Hearing this caused the female's blood to boil with anger. "At least Autumn knows the type of person that I am… Which is more than what I could say for you… Besides, you hardly cared much about that 'reputation' last semester when we spent the night together."

Carlos snickered in disgust, "I should've known you hadn't moved on from that mistake… Haven't you figured it out yet? That night meant nothing to me. Move on already."

After hearing his words, Taylor couldn't help but let out a sarcastic chuckle, "Oh honey, you're the one that hasn't understood yet. I couldn't care less about what happened that night, but what does drive my every button is how you continue to pretend to be this… this… ugh, you're such a hypocrite."

"Like I care about what someone like you has to say." There was a small pause before Taylor let out a small smirk that confused the male.

"What's so funny?" he asked rather annoyed.

The female took a sip of water, "You pretend to be someone you're not in the hopes that one day… just one day Autumn will give you a chance… You and I both know that the two of you will never happen. Don't you get it…? Autumn will never see you as anything more than an ear to vent on… I mean that's all you're good for anyways."

Carlos would never admit the sting those words brought to him. Hearing those words caused his anger to rise as his fist began to tighten.

Before anything else could be said, the two were interrupted when Autumn finished her call and walked back to the booth. "Sorry, I didn't mean to take this long," she apologized as Carlos stood back up and allowed her to take her previous place. "So… did the both of you work out your disagreement?"

Taylor rolled her eyes as she couldn't stand seeing the male in front of her for another minute. "Nope, if you don't mind could you please tell your stalker to take a hike?"

"Taylor…" reacted Autumn. "You don't have to be rude."

"Don't worry," responded Carlos. "I couldn't possibly care any less about what she thinks."

There was another small yet highly uncomfortable pause before the brown-haired female sighed, "Carlos…" she began as she turned to him. "Could I please talk to Taylor alone…?"

Seeing the look on Carlos's face when he was asked to leave was priceless for Taylor. She would've loved to take a picture of it and shove it in his face.

"You really want me to leave?" asked the football player with a hurtful look.

Autumn hated disappointing her friends, but she knew this was a no-win situation for her and she hoped that Carlos would be able to understand that. "Please… we can hang out some other time…"

Carlos's sad look immediately turned into a glare directed at Taylor as she was gesturing him to leave already with a satisfied look. "If you don't want me around just say it… you don't need to beat around the bush," and before Autumn could respond, he immediately stood up and walked away.

"I didn't even insinuate that…" pleaded Autumn, but it was too late as he had already left.

"Why bother?" asked Taylor. "Let him go throw his tantrum somewhere else."

"I just don't understand what happened between you two…" commented Autumn as she turned back to her best friend. "Please help me understand…"

Taylor sighed as she wanted to tell her, but she wasn't confident that her best friend would be ok with it exactly. "It's personal…" she eventually responded. "Let's just change topics… Tell me about your week!"

"Well," began Autumn as she decided to respect her decision and drop the topic. "It wasn't anything special… just classes and studying really…"

Taylor pretended to yawn, "Boring."

The brown-haired female rolled her eyes in response. "Ok, and what has your week been like?"

"The usual," she started. "Two dates, several nights clubbing, and the occasional one-nighters."

"Are you serious," reacted Autumn in laughter. "I don't need to know about your sex life."

Taylor joined her as she too began to laugh, "Well you asked me about my week… I was just being honest with you."

"I guess you have a point," she responded. "What are your plans for the weekend?"

Upon hearing the question, Taylor scowled. "I was going to ask you to go watch a movie, but I received a text from my cheerleading coach that tonight's game was postponed for tomorrow… So I guess today I'm going clubbing… I don't suppose you would like to tag along."

"Not a chance," responded Autumn with a giggle. "But thanks for the invite."

"Well, what are your plans?"

The brown-haired freshman was silent for a moment, "Nothing really I guess." Before anything else could be said, Taylor noticed a group of cheerleader sitting down in a nearby booth. She immediately stood up and called out for one of the girls, "Lindsay!"

The blonde-haired female turned to them and waved. She said something to her group before heading to the booth where Autumn and Taylor were sitting in. "When you said you were going to chill with your best friend I didn't necessarily think it would be here," she commented in a sarcastic tone.

"Well I was craving a juice so here we are," responded Taylor.

"Cravings?" asked the cheerleader with a smirk. "Should I tell Will that he's going to be a daddy?"

Both female's laughed at the thought of Taylor being pregnant. "This is Autumn," she said once her laughter calmed down. "My best friend. Autumn, meet Lindsay, our head cheerleader."

"Nice to meet you," greeted Autumn with a smile.

"Ditto," responded Lindsay. "Taylor has told me a lot about you."

"Really?" asked the brown haired female. "Like what."

"Relax," chuckled the sophomore cheerleader. "Nothing bad unless you count extremely reserved as a bad thing… Anyways are you coming to my party on Monday?" she asked turning back to Taylor.

"What party?" asked the freshman cheerleader.

"My birthday party this Monday," responded Lindsay. "You should really check your email every now and then."

Taylor started to laugh sheepishly, "Sorry, I really haven't paid much attention to my email… but I thought you were just going to have a night out with your man."

"Well I was, but he told me Wednesday that he pulled a few strings and the lounge he works in has agreed to host a special event for me but it had to be on Monday since they are usually slow on those days… You should come too," she said referring to Autumn.

"Really…? Thanks," responded Autumn. "Your boyfriend must be pretty important in that lounge to be able to do that."

"You could say that," responded Lindsay. "He's the lead guitarist for the band that plays there."

"That's super cool," responded Autumn.

"We will be there," assured Taylor with a smile.

Lindsay smiled as she liked the answer she received, "Cool. I should get back with the group. See the both of you tomorrow for the game?"

Hearing this, Autumn was going to respond until her best friend interrupted. "Well I have to be there, but maybe I can convince Ms. Studyholic here to come."

"Great, well see ya," and with that said the blonde-haired cheerleader turned back and walked towards her group of friends.

"A party," squeeled Taylor with excitement. "You better have meant it when you said you would go."

"Technically I never said I would go," teased Autumn earning a playful glare from her best friend. "But this lounge party sounds really interesting… just no drinking and dancing."

"Sure," commented Taylor sarcastically. "Come to a party but don't do any of the fun stuff… Well, how about the game tomorrow…? It's Saturday night and I doubt you have anything better to do."

"I don't know…" responded Autumn. "It's been a long week. I don't really think I would feel comfortable attending a sports event."

"C'mon bestie," teased the cheerleader. "Have you ever seen me get my peppy on?"

Autumn couldn't help but laugh at what her best friend was saying. "I guess it wouldn't be a bad idea to go,' she finally responded earning a grin from the cheerleader.

"Thank you," she said. "It will fun… maybe, but we can get something to eat afterward. My treat."

"Sure," responded Autumn. "I'll hold you to that." The two females continued to talk for a little while longer before Taylor had a meeting to get to and they both went their separate ways.

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An hour later, Autumn opened the door to her dorm and entered. With a sigh of relief, she placed her bag down and jumped on her bed. _'What a day,'_ she admitted. Seeing the time, she decided to get a little reading before taking a shower and calling it a night. She sat up on her bed and stretched to her drawer where she pulled out her bible. She opened the book to the last chapter she read and started from there. "O Lord, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth. She continued to read from the bible for a few more chapters until her phone vibrated indicating that she had received a message. It was from Carlos who was texting her to apologize about the scene he made in the Smoothe-N-Juice. She started to respond until she received a second message from her older sister back in New York City. With a smile, she exited out of her messages and started a video call. Seconds later, the image of her sister popped up on the screen. "Jessie!" she greeted in excitement. She loved speaking to her sister as they always spoke for even hours on some occasions. She truly looked up to her as she believed Jessica to be an ideal example for who she wants to be someday. Intelligent, successful, happily married, and loyal to her faith.

"Hi sis," responded the older woman. "How's college?"

"Ugh, where to begin," responded the young adult with a smile. "Mrs. Brooks quiz was harder than I expected. A vending machine stole my dollar this morning, oh and I just got invited to a party on Monday!"

There was a small pause from her sister, "What did you do to that vending machine afterward?" she asked trying to look serious.

"Nothing…" responded Autumn looking somewhat confused. "Was I supposed to do something?"

Jessica started to chuckle at her sister's reaction. "I'm just messing with you Autumn; but seriously wow, are you planning to go to the party?"

"Well at first I wasn't too keen on it, but the more I think about it, the more interesting it sounds."

"Are you going with your best friend?"

"Yes, I wouldn't be going if Taylor wasn't."

"Great," began the older sister. "I'm sure you will have a blast oh and don't worry about that quiz. I can already tell you passed with flying colors.

Autumn smiled warmly, "So how was your day…? Did your appointment end well?"

Jessica immediately grinned from ear-to-ear as she had some exciting news for her sister. "Of course," she quickly responded. "I actually got some interesting news that you will be the first to know… well besides my husband."

Autumn raised an eyebrow in confusion, "Oh really? And what would that be?"

The older female began to playfully whistle and as she slowly pulled the camera towards her stomach, "Someone is going to be an aunt soon."

Hearing those words brought an immense wave of joy to the young adult. "Are you kidding me!" she shouted as she jumped from her bed. "How long?"

Jessica slightly giggled, "Only a couple of weeks, but I'm going to head to our parent's house tomorrow and give the news personally."

"Congratulations Jessie…! I can't believe I'm going to be an aunt!" She could barely contain her emotions as she was gleefully walking back in fourth.

"Wow," reacted the older woman. "I didn't think you would be more excited than I was when I received the news."

"Well, it obviously hasn't sunk in completely just yet…

"Probably," began the older woman. "Ryan was completely ecstatic when I told him," she responded.

"I bet," This truly was the greatest news she received in years. Just the thought of being an aunt made her want to jump in joy all over again. This had been a great day overall. Something told her that this was going to be a great weekend.

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 _A/N: And that's it for today. If there_ are _any suggestions to how_ I _can improve this chapter or upcoming chapter please let me know, thank you._


	2. Chapter 2

The Journey Begins Chapter 2

 **Author's Note:** _Hey everyone! I'm back with the next chapter of this story. I would like to give a thank you to everyone who is taking the time to read this story. All of you are awesome! Special thanks to those of you who followed, favorited, and/or left a review, it means a lot. Hope everyone enjoys this chapter,_

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The stands roared with cheers from the multitudes of people that nearly filled the small stadium to its maximum capacity. There was no doubt that everyone in attendance was extremely anxious for the soccer game to begin already and they could barely wait any longer.

The two teams had already completed their warm-ups about ten minutes ago and were currently in their locker rooms. In the meantime, the cheerleading squad was in the center of the field doing their best to pump up the crowd even more than what they already were by performing several routines that they had practiced. Every time they would finish one of their performances, the crowd would immediately applaud them in support.

High in the stands near the very top, Autumn could be seen standing in front of her seat in an attempt to get a much clearer view of what was going on in the field. Admittedly, being surrounded by so many people made her feel highly uncomfortable as she would much rather be in her dorm right about now. Despite this, the New York native was trying her best to have a good time and enjoy this first-ever experience for her. She would constantly follow along with the crowd every time they clapped and cheered. She even participated when the audience began to do the "wave." Anyone could tell that there was a unique sense of euphoria in the atmosphere.

It wasn't long before the cheerleaders finished their final routine and immediately moved to the side of the field near the home locker room entrance. Once they had exited the field, the away team quickly entered followed by the loud "boos" that were coming from the fans. Autumn herself couldn't resist that urge as she too began to "boo." In all honesty, even through her discomfort, the New York native was having a lot of fun. The crowd was unbelievably contagious as she would always find herself swept up and doing exactly what they would do. She loved her school after all, and going along with the rest of her fellow students was the best way to support the home team.

Suddenly, there was a male voice that began to speak through the speakers welcoming everyone to the game. The fans began to cheer wildly as they were long ready for the game to get started. The cheerleaders formed two lines opposite of each other surrounding the entrance to the locker room. Although Autumn had a very good idea of what was going on, it was still a little annoying for her how difficult it was to properly see what was happening. To be honest, she would always have a hard time trying to figure out which cheerleader was her best friend since supporting her was the main reason why she was here in the first place. Before Autumn could realize it, everybody around her suddenly began to jump up and down as they continued to cheer louder than ever. It took a moment but she was finally able to see what the whole commotion was about. The players for the home team were finally beginning to come out individually as their name along with number and position were called out. The people in attendance gave a loud applause for everyone as they were coming out.

"And now…" began the speaker once again grabbing everyone's attention including Autumn's. "Playing as attacking mid and proudly wearing the number ten."

Much to Autumn's surprise, the fans began to cheer even louder as the whole stadium was filled with chants that voiced one name, "Elias!"

"Give it up for MVP candidate, ELIAS SANDOVAL!" At that moment, the fans cheered and jumped as loud as they ever had the entire night as the final player exited the locker room and ran towards the field to join the rest of his teammates.

 _'MVP candidate?'_ thought Autumn. It's no secret that her father is a huge basketball fan and if she remembers correctly, "MVP" is a major deal. It didn't take long for the game to begin after the introduction of the players. Even though she knew little to nothing about soccer, it wasn't hard to tell that the game was fairly one-sided in favor of the home team, much to the delight of the fans. Although she didn't get the more complex details, Autumn was able to quickly figure out the main concept of the game which was ultimately to get the ball inside the opponent's net. A feat that wasn't accomplished until a shot from Elias outside the box that sent the fans into another frenzy. Autumn too joined in on the celebration as the people around her often patted her on the shoulder or even hugged her in joy as the game continued. _'I guess there's no such thing as strangers here,'_ she thought with a smile. The game went on for quite a while until the referee eventually blew the whistle one last time signaling the end of the game. The final score being 4-0 in favor of the home team.

As the people began to leave the stadium, Autumn remained in her seat for a little while longer. She saw that all the cheerleaders had entered the locker room shortly after the soccer team did. Because of this, she decided to pull out her phone and send a quick message to Taylor. Fortunately, she almost immediately received a response from her best friend which notified her that she would be out in like ten minutes and to go ahead and wait for her outside the stadium. The brown-haired female stood up from her seat and headed for the exit.

* * *

Outside, the sidewalks were completely crowded as everyone was talking to each other before heading home. Upon seeing this, Autumn decided to send Taylor another message to let her know where exactly she was going to be waiting for her.

Twenty minutes had passed and there was still no sign of Taylor. Although the area was still pretty busy, a good amount of people had already left. Admittedly, Autumn was growing highly impatient as she had long noticed that a lot of the cheerleaders had already exited the building and left. One of them being the head cheerleader whom Autumn recognized from "Tina's Smooth-N-Juice." She walked out of the building with a guy that was dark-skinned and had a very rebel feel to him which she deduced to be the boyfriend.

When it came to Taylor, she knew what kind of person she was and because of that, she wouldn't be at all surprised if her best friend had forgotten that she was outside in favor of something else… someone else in most cases. Fortunately, after a few more minutes of waiting, the freshman cheerleader finally stepped out of the building and immediately spotted her.

"Hey!" she yelled out as she ran towards her.

"A little more than ten minutes," teased the New York native playfully.

"I know," began the cheerleader with a look of guilt. "I'm really sorry for the delay but a friend twisted her ankle in the locker room and a few of us wanted to make sure she was ok before taking a shower… do you forgive me?"

Autumn gave a light giggle as she nodded, "Don't worry about it. To be honest though, I was a little worried that you had forgotten about me again."

Hearing this, the black-haired female sighed sarcastically as she couldn't help but laugh a little, "That's understandable," she admitted. "Again, I'm really sorry about being late… I know I should have texted you to let you know what was going on, but thank you so much for waiting. I wouldn't have blamed you if you had decided to leave."

"It's ok," assured Autumn with a warm smile. "What matters now is that you're here and now you can make good on your part of the deal."

Hearing this, Taylor looked at her best friend in confusion, "What deal?"

"The one where you buy me dinner."

"Oh," laughed the cheerleader. "Would you be surprised if I said that I forgot about that part?"

Autumn sarcastically rolled her eyes as she honestly wasn't surprised one bit. "Would you be if I said no?"

"Fair enough…" Taylor was silent for a moment as she turned to both directions of the sidewalk. "How about sushi?" she suggested.

Without hesitation, Autumn began walking towards the direction of the sushi restaurant followed by her best friend. "As long as your paying," she playfully responded. She heard a laughter from Taylor before feeling two arms wrapped around her.

"I love you bestie," voiced Taylor honestly as the two continued walking.

* * *

The two friends arrived at "Sushi Shore," and even though it was well over the normal busy hours, the restaurant was quite packed due to the game. As soon as they entered, they were kindly greeted by a young female hostess who led them to their table before politely asking them what they would like to drink.

"I would like an iced tea please," responded Autumn.

"And I will take a water," added Taylor. Once the hostess wrote down their drinks, she kindly took her leave allowing both females to be alone."

"So, what are you going to get?" asked Taylor as she looked at the menu.

Autumn too was looking at the menu, she wasn't too sure what she wanted exactly. "I guess I can't go wrong with the Cali roll… actually… a pork ramen bowl doesn't sound too bad right about now… yea that's what I will get. What about you?"

"Hmm," thought Taylor. "I guess I'll go for the "Makizushi." Within a few minutes, a waiter arrived to their table with drinks in hand.

"Are you ready to order?" asked the waiter once he placed the drinks down.

"Yes," responded Taylor. "I will have the makizushi rolls and she will have a pork ramen bowl." The waitress took their order and left. Taylor took a sip of her drink before turning to her best friend, "Just for the record, I said that I would pay for sushi, not ramen," she commented before giving a small laughter that was quickly followed by Autumn. "So, what did you think of my talents as a cheerleader?"

Autumn's laughter died down as she too took a sip from her drink. "Well from what I was able to see from my seat, you were pretty good… at least if you were the person I thought you were…"

"Are you serious?" asked the black-haired female. "Clearly it wasn't me since everyone knows that I…am…amazing when it comes to cheerleading… among a few other stuff."

"I have to admit though," began Autumn. "The stadium was pretty filled for a soccer game… I mean I thought only the football games attracted this many people."

"Well, unlike the football team. They know a thing or two about being the best in the district so that's probably why."

"Really?" asked Autumn slightly surprised. "I didn't know this university excelled in sports."

"Only in soccer," responded Taylor. "Plus, they have the top college player in the country. Elias Sandoval."

"Oh, that's really good. I didn't know that."

"Shocking…" commented Taylor sarcastically. "That's why you need to get out more. Being locked up in your dorm is not helping your personal life."

Hearing this caused the brown-haired female to raise an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean that you need to get out more and enjoy yourself," responded the cheerleader. "Last semester you said that you barely went out when you were in high school so you have a lot of making up to do. You're hours away from New York, nothing is stopping you from going out every night."

"I agreed to the lounge party on Monday didn't I" answered Autumn sarcastically.

"I guess that's a start… who knows, maybe you'll want to repeat the experience." At that moment, they were interrupted when the waiter returned with their food.

Autumn was immediately hit with the mouth-watering aroma that was coming from her food, but before grabbing her spoon, she first closed her eyes and said a quick prayer of gratitude.

Taylor noticed her gesture and decided to wait for her to finish before eating. Admittedly, it was a little awkward for her to sit there silently while her best friend prayed, especially when they were in public locations. Once Autumn had finished, they both finally started to eat.

"About that party…" began Autumn grabbing her best friend's attention. "I was hoping that you could maybe help me pick out something that I could wear for it… I mean it will be the first party that I'm going to that will not be exactly formal. So…" before she could say anything else, she was cut off by Taylor.

"Enough said," she responded with a smile. "I'll stop by your dorm on Monday before the party and that way we can both go together."

Autumn smiled warmly as she heard this, "Thanks, hopefully, I won't get in the way…"

"Don't worry," assured the cheerleader. "I know Monday is going to be a new experience so I will be by your side throughout the entire night. The minute you want to head out will be the minute that we head out."

"Thanks."

"I'll be sure to bring some of my makeup so I can get started on hiding that sunburn on your cheek… I wouldn't want your potential suitors to find an unnecessary defect in you," she added to which Autumn simply rolled her eyes. "It's going to be fun. I promise."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** _And that's it for this chapter. Reviews are always accepted and greatly appreciated. If there's any way that I can improve these chapters or if you have any ideas for the future of this story, please let me know. Thank you so much for giving this story a chance till next time. Take care._


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